There is no doubt that Boyce Watkins offers insightful
issues in his Your Black World internet publication. I especially like the
material presented by one of his contributors, Yvette Carnell. However Watkins’
article, “How to
Know the Difference Between a Black Man and a N*gger” is not only insulting and anti-intellectual but it is
neither accurate nor relevant. By resorting to bombastic name-calling this
article obscures the issues that otherwise might lead to an important and useful
discussion. Doubtless, there is a real need to know why black people behave as they
do, but Boyce Watkins article adds nothing to that knowledge. He says:

“The key is that you are
fully indoctrinated into every type of brainwashing that the white man has made
available to you. You can get n*gger-training from your friends, your
family or even your local radio station. America’s Army of N*ggers is
growing daily, and we’re always looking for a few good coons.
… it is time that we seek … black men out and convert them into something more
stereotypical. So, if you are wondering what a black man looks like when
he has not yet been transformed into a n*gger, here are some differences you’ll
want to keep in mind…”

Weare aware that the black community is plagued by
serious pathologies___ most caused by the fact we are an oppressed minority
residing in a police state. As a result, all suggestions that help us find our
way are welcome. However the suggestions should be positive and certainly more
than what Boyce offers. What is needed is a useful tool of differentiating between
the various segments of black people. Such a tool would be especially helpful
to evaluate the motivations of our leaders and qualifications of our
politicians. Several black intellectuals have offered important intellectual
tools. For example, in his book, The
Negro In United States, E. Franklin Frazier differentiates black people
into the:

“…the shiftless and vicious element which form about
10 percent of the Negro community;

… the rank and file, the common people, comprising
70 per cent of the entire Negro population who derive a living from domestic
and personal service and common labor;

… the middle class which formed approximately
18 per cent of the Negro population including waiters, Pullman porters, janitors
and artisans [as well as] professional people and proprietors of small
businesses [who] are generally thrifty and own homes …

… [and] the small
upper class --- 2 percent of the Negro population --- the majority of whom are
light complexioned and live in superior residential districts and have white
neighbors.”

In his book, The Philadelphia Negro, the highly
respected W.E.DuBois says that a tool for differentiating between classes is
desired by the Negroes because, “Nothing more exasperates the better class of
Negroes than this tendency to ignore utterly their existence.” Furthermore,
DuBois says, “the word Negro carries most Philadelphians’ minds to the alleys
of the Fifth Ward or the police courts.” This is why DuBois divides Negroes into
the following grades:

Grade 1: Families of undoubted respectability
earning sufficient income to live well …

Grade 2: The respectable working-class [living] in
comfortable circumstances with a good home and having steady remunerative work…

Grade 3: The poor, but honest persons who do not
always earn enough to have the basic necessities of food, clothing and shelter
…

Grade 4: The lowest class of criminals, prostitutes
and loafers.

Other black intellectuals
have sought to differentiate the black community, but none, no matter their
ideology, has been so insulting as to describe us as either blacks or n*ggers. Neither of these terms are even exclusive categories for
the purpose of intellectual analysis. They are merely descriptors or attributes
___ one is a pejorative attribute; the other is an attribute of preference. But
as any intellectual can tell you, these attributes are overlapping, i.e. would
could be both black and a n*gger. On the other hand, an African-American could
be neither black nor a n*gger. I would have thought that as a doctor of
philosophy, Boyce Watkins would be familiar with the basic tools of inquiry and
analysis necessary for critical thinking.

“It is time that we
seek black men out,” Watkins says.

Who is this ‘we’
that Watkins is speaking for? Is it some group of self proclaimed leaders that
wishes to speak for the black community ___ some elitist group of leaders who considers themselves neither
black nor n*ggers, but, somehow, superior to both. Is Boyce Watkins’ article some
crude attempt to introduce a ‘we’ vs ‘they’ concept of the black community ___
a concept that has intrigued philosophers from Martin Buber to F.C.S. Schiller.
If so, he misses the mark.

Yet, notwithstanding Boyce
Watkins’ failed attempt, there is a real need for us to differentiate between the
‘we’ and ‘they’ within the black community. The most common instance can be
seen when black Republicans attempt to differentiate themselves from black
Democrats. Another instance is when we attempt to understand the bitter and
violent rivalry between the Black Panther Party and Ron Karenga’s United Slaves
[US]. For that matter, such a differentiation tool would be helpful in
understanding the gang war between the Crips and the Bloods, a gang war that
claimed the lives of thousands of young black men and women from LA to New York
City and has resulted in what Michele Alexander calls the “new Jim Crow”, the
massive, ongoing incarceration of blacks in America. When it is necessary for
some of us to distance ourselves from a Ward Connerly or a Clarence Thomas, we
need some type of intellectual tool, since no self respecting black person
would consider either as a part of ‘us’. Some time ago I actually devised such a tool
for my own use. So it is that I offer the following as one method of differentiating
between those who are objectively considered biological and legal members of
the black community:

Assimilationists: These are black people who believe that they have
melted into the dominant white culture and adopt both racism and fascism as their
own personal behavioral norms. This group is composed primarily, but not
exclusively, of people of mixed parentage and speaks of American society as having
entered into a post-civil rights period. When necessary, they prefer being
identified as persons of color rather
than as blacks, African-Americans or any other common racial term. Most often,
however, they vigorously deny identification with or membership in any racial
group. Assimationists prefer the company of whites, generally engage in
interracial relationships and display masochistic personality traits. Whites
prefer appointing assimilationists to the highest academic, corporate and
government posts.

Accomodationists: These are black people who adopt white cultural
values in addition to white political and economic norms. Their success is found
in their ability to ‘code switch’. Accomodationists
use their connections to dominant culture to enhance their own personal self-esteem
and economic success. Accomodationists often belong to successful families that
are connected to established religious, social and fraternal institutions
within the black community. They display a fatalistic personal psychology believing
that the relative positions between whites and blacks in America will always
remain fixed and immutable. Accomadationists do not advocate social or
political change; they have a vested interest in the status quo. Accomodationists
are the personal attendants to the rich and powerful, i.e., cooks, butlers,
chauffeurs and valets. They are also career military officers and top non-coms.
Accomadationists are essential to the criminal justice system serving as policemen,
prison guards, attorneys and judges. As athletes, actors, singers, dancers and
musicians, they are an important segment of the entertainment industry.
Finally, accomadationists absorb all of the minority positions available in the
various television, cable, internet and print media outlets.

Integrationists: These are black people who accept the economic and
political values of the white society while attempting to maintain their own
separate social and cultural identity. Integrationists actively pursue social
and civil rights causes and are members of political and activist groups. Less
capable of “code switching”, they are the most ardent advocates of
‘afro-centrism’. Nonetheless integrationists are teachers, doctors and lawyers.
However, rather than advancing through professional development and subject
matter expertise, integrationists continuously pressure institutions within the
dominant culture to meet their specific demands for diversity and affirmative
action programs that advance their own individual careers. Integrationists are
driven by the psychology of individualism and willingly bargain away group
values for personal gain. These people are most likely to make moral appeals based
upon religious teachings. Preachers, turned civil rights leaders, turned politicians,
turned celebrities are some of the most successful integrationists.

Nationalists: These are black people who adopt an idealized set of
values positing an independent social and cultural existence while accepting
the reality of economic and political oppression. Nationalists know that the “game”
is fixed and that the fundamental concepts of justice and fair play are
nonexistent for black people in America. Nationalists attempt to forge
cross-cultural linkages with other oppressed minorities in their economic and
political activities while maintaining separate cultural and social values. A
number of pseudo nationalist organizations offer a refuge to this group of
black people. However, these organizations usually only offer false hopes and have
hidden agendas. One such organization was the tragic People’s Temple, a pseudo-nationalist
organization founded by the ku klux klansman, Jim Jones. Some claim that Marcus Garvey’s UNIA was
pseudo-nationalistic. The successful nationalist resorts to the psychology of a
refugee or of an expatriate … and never trusts anyone.

Deviants: These are individuals who adopt ‘street’ or outlaw
values. Black deviants do not behave according to any set of personal values or
moral codes. Neither do black cultural norms nor intellectual achievement influence
a deviant’s behavior. Black deviants are denizens of the poorest sections of
the community and live marginalized,
day-to-day existences. The only order that most deviants know is institutional order. The more successful
deviants are gangsters who behave
according to their gang’s code. Gang deviants are admitted into membership only
after passing through an initiation ritual that often involves serious criminal
activity. However, since all the gangs are controlled by the criminal justice
system, black gang members, unlike gangsters in other races, have zero chance for survival or success. The
psychology of the black social deviant is similar to what is found in submerged
groups all around the world ____ tribalism and desperation.

****

Boyce Watkins has built Your
Black News into an important and influential media organ. But his importance
is all the more reason to criticize his article, “How to Know the Difference Between a Black
Man and a N*gger” as beingcrude, anti-intellectual
and lacking the depth of thought that this subject deserves. Boyce Watkins should
be careful writing articles like this because it calls into question his own academic
credentials.